Week o' pies

Could it be autumn, mass hysteria, or the fact that people who work together start to think alike. Whatever the reason from October 18th through the 25th everyone ended up seeking out and bringing in pies. But, who's complaining.  There are actually several farms in the area who make fresh pies which are very, very good. Then there is always the supermarket or trusty old Sam's Club where the pies are very, very big.

Two American classics

We started off with two pies from Schartner farms where they make Fruit Pies with character! We had a classic American Apple Pie and a classic American Pecan Pie.  The apple pie was very traditional and fresh. The pecan pie was also very good and not as sickeningly sweet as they sometimes can be. Of course, the best pecan pie comes from one or our own so even though this measured up it did not surpass.

Sam's Club does pumpkin pie

A few days later and we had another American traditional pie which is definitely related to the fall season.  When else do you see pumpkin pie?  This one was courtesy or Member's Mark Bakery aka Sam's Club.  So what if it is discount pie it still tastes good and you can't really mess up a pumpkin pie much anyway.  We just happened to have some whipped cream on hand which is the perfect complement to the pie, don't you think?

Good old blueberry pie

We finished off the week o' pies with - you guessed it - a classic American Pie - this time blueberry.  There are indeed some variations on blueberry pie but this was your solid blueberry pie with traditional pie crust. We all know that blueberries are good for you so there was no hesitation polishing this baby off even without the whipped cream. 

ENGAGEMENT CAKE!

It's hard to tell what's going on around here - maybe it is the algae in the drinking water - but over the last several months three of the female graduate students working for their PhDs have gotten engaged!  Is it possible that as they approach completion of their degrees the future spouses are concluding they should take the plunge now to ensure that their highly educated partners will be able to support them in life?  That's too funny. These are PhDs after all, not MDs, so I wouldn't bet the house on the projected future earnings. There must be only one explanation ......LOVE!  (You can gag now!)  The fiancée in today's featured relationship is from Europe. We are hoping that in-law attitudes have softened somewhat from the previous maternal comment about how her son would move to Europe "over my dead body!"  That must have been early in the relationship.  The ring included Grandma's diamond so relations must be cool!

To celebrate we had one of those classic chocolate layer cakes from Gregg's. We are starting to know the Gregg cakes very well!  Good moist chocolate cake with a real chocolaty frosting that some find a little hard to take. At least the frosting was not made with lard which is REAL hard to take. 

We discussed the award of the Nobel Prize in Medicine to the discoverer of in vitro fertilization. It's too bad one of the pair responsible for this breakthrough had to die before the Nobel Committee got around to recognizing them. (A little late!) From there the conversation went to multiple births, then Octomom, then to polygamy and finally to Mormon's.  We also wonder how TLC can still be considered a "learning" channel if they continue with their expanded line up of screwed up family situations. Jon and Kate, anyone?

Nonetheless, congratulations to out latest betrothed colleague!

Coldstone is still around

At least their ice cream cakes are.  This is called Strawberry Passion! It was brought in by one of our newest cake hour members and was a refreshing treat on a sticky Tuesday.  Many have noticed that Cold Stone Ice Cream stores are becoming few and far between. The main one in the theater district of Boston shut down but there is still one in the city. As it turns out running a Cold Stone Franchise is not the easiest thing to do so the stores may suffer but the company is chugging along. 

Nonetheless this cake, which is a combination of ice cream and red velvet cake is very good and it was a big hit judging by the number that showed up to grab a slice. It was very popular amongst the younger crowd although who ever argues with ice cream.  A good debut for our new cake hour cackler!

As it appears in your grocer's freezer

Strawberry passion, anyone?

Our new friend has his first hit!

Our pieces were a lot smaller than the suggested slices

Red velvet cake and ice cream - good combination.

Today's conversation included reminiscences of two of our colleagues who spend their times on NIH study sections. Apparently no one misses the days of shipping the hard copies down for review and those here are perfectly fine with things now being sent electronically.

The Moss Kids bake and take the cake!

We had guest bakers again today and this time it was some youthful aficionados of baking. Jacob and Tasha showed up and assembled a chocolaty, nutellaey, strawberry, raspberry and whipped cream extravaganza. Inspired by the entry of the big T for student cake month, they decided to go with a cake stacked high and filled with all sorts of goodness. It was quite impressive and easily surpassed some of the offerings of the usual participants. The cake looked great and tasted really good. It was not too sweet and really moist. When you added extra whipped cream it was top notch!!  These kids even received suggestions that they should open a bakery but I think that is a little unrealistic with their school schedules so we will have to just settle for them coming back and making another creation. As you can see from the pictures the crowd went wild for this treat and of course we took the left over pieces and created some cake art.

The extravaganza! Eat your heart out Big T!

Like a work of art!

Ta da!!

Gee, now they're going to eat it and we won't see it again!

The cake looks like it's talking!

I said smile you sillies!

The crowd goes wild especially Princess!

Doling out the whipped! Extra whipped cream anyone?

Yes...pile it on!

Bunny ears for all!

The cake becomes a logo!

Our latest cake art creations!!

The wedding of Yat Yee and Waihong

A Hong Kong wedding!! Our own cakemaster decided to tie the knot and returned to his home town to do so. (That's how we got all those pictures of the bakeries over there.) He was gone a month but we suspect it was not a month long affair but rather he got stuck having to prepare for the whole thing. It was quite a banquet as far as we can tell and he gave us some insight as to how these functions are in Hong Kong. There were also a ton of people. Upon his return he provided us a nice spread of traditional Chinese treats to celebrate the event at the day's cake hour. It was quite a smattering of Chinese goodies as you can tell by the pictures.

Some of the round cakes had interesting stuff on the inside including, if I remember correctly, a petrified egg yolk or something like that. The coolest part, though, was the 3D pictures that they took. You had to view them through a special lens but they were really outstanding!  I'll let the groom comment further on what he fed us!

Here we go again..

I guess we're on a bit of a roll when it comes to the featured item. Friday it was a fruit tart from one of our favorite places and today it is....a fruit tart from one of our favorite places. This time it is from Pastiche on Federal Hill in Providence.  They have been around for awhile and are another place that produces high quality products that look good and taste great.  In the picture you can see the similarities in the product.  The outer ring is even supposed to be mango but we're suspecting it is peach. This one is certainly very colorful and the fruit is all fresh.  There appears to be a glaze on this one but it is light and barely noticeable. It does serve to hold the fruit together so the berries don't go rolling off when you slice it. The pastry cream layer is a little thicker here but regardless these are great tarts and we are always happy to see one from http://www.pastichefinedesserts.com/home.html.  Check it out...more competition for those showy Hong Kong places!

Pastiche logo

Colorful Creation

Well designed!

The inner fixin's

Tomorrow is the pathobiology retreat. The sheer joy of having to participate is being amplified by the monsoon weather. Since the retreat takes place in a park it is looking like this is going to be memorable not just for the science. We can't wait to see who shows up since it is being pushed by those in the know here. 

Side view

It's going fast...

Tropical Treat??

Doesn't the title sound enticing? The treat for today was indeed but the title reflect not so much the origin or tradition of the fruit tart served but more the fact that it had not frequently seen pineapples and mangoes on it.  It was a nice touch. Mangoes are usually mush so to see them so firm and neatly sliced was impressive. (Not as impressive as the mango cheesecake in the Hong Kong Bakery but hey.) The tart came from the Vienna Bakery in Barrington, RI which is always a favorite. You will never complain about the quality or the taste. We did think it interesting that they used whole strawberries with the leaves still attached and the blueberries were partly cooked which actually strengthens the flavor. It is a classic fruit tart with a thick crust, a layer of pastry cream or custard and then the fruit.  Sometimes is covered with a layer of clear gelatin but the Vienna does not usually do that. Since it can make the crust soggy we rather it without anyway.  Check out the website of the Vienna Bakery. The case rivals those Hong Kong places.  http://www.viennabakeryri.com/. Their pear tart is one of our favorite cake hour specialties.

There was a lot of buzz about the upcoming pathobiology retreat coming up. Folks were busy preparing posters and waiting for the day to arrive so they can get it over with. Apparently the retreat does not go down as one of the most fun things to do. But we would never dispute the educational benefit of attending. It will be interesting to see who shows up.